Eternity is not lost
by D'len
Summary: What if D met a stranger who was (unknown to him) actually someone from his past and he fell in love with her all over again (COMPLETE)
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimers: 

****

NB!! Important!!

I don't own Vampire Hunter D or any of the characters in the movies and/or books.

I've been a fan ever since I bought the VHD: Bloodlust DVD, which wasn't very long ago, practically only a week had passed before I started to write this story. 

Therefore, of D's past and childhood, I claim no knowledge; of the world's past, I claim no knowledge; of D's reasons for being a hunter, I claim no knowledge and neither do I claim any knowledge of the specific lore of vampires in this universe or vampire and dunpeal physiology.

I know very little, except that I loved the movie. 

For the story to work, I've made that LeftHand (LH) is to a certain extent telepathically linked to D, whether this is true, I have no idea. 

I do not wish to offend anyone that actually knows about the above and I apologise if what I have created here is not part of the original ways of the VHD universe.

Since this is a love story of a sort, D would probably be a bit OOC, for this I also apologise.

If these discrepancies bother the reader, please do not read any further.

Warnings:

The rating is R for sexual themes.

The characters Saya (just a cool name, no relation at all to any other official character anywhere) and the neem, Neva, are copyright to me as well as the plot.

//thoughts or different language//

Thanks so much.

Chapter 1:

D was on his way to a county where he had heard of a vampire infestation. He needed money, since the last few towns refused to pay him. Even the implied threat of him being a dunpeal wouldn't sway them. So now he was on his way to greener pastures. 

It was almost dusk and the forest he was passing through was uncommonly beautiful. The ancient trees swayed in the wind, their branches seemingly bowing to him as he passed beneath them. He came to a break in the trees and found himself looking out over the edge of a cliff, the forest spread out beneath him. He could smell rain in the air, the thunderclouds making a purple and red shroud around the setting sun.

"Wow," said LH, "now that is truly a sight for sore eyes."

D remained silent and just watched. //Red and purple, the colours of vampires.// 

"Oh, come on", complained LH, reading D's mind, "do you have to think about that now?"

After a few moments, D relaxed. He had to admit, it truly was beautiful, and it reminded him of something else… dancing. He frowned, where did that come from? He shook his head to clear it. He could barely remember the last time he had danced. It was a happier time then.

"Come on", said LH, wisely staying out of D's thoughts, "we should find shelter. Those clouds look dangerous."

D turned the horse around and headed back into the forest. He remembered seeing a cave a little way back in one of the hills they passed. Night was falling fast. As they approached the cave, D became restless. Something was wrong, he could feel it. As the horse moved from behind a tree, he saw why. There were four figures clustered around a horseless coach just inside the cave opening. They were facing another figure with a long staff in their hands. D pulled back behind the tree and a few bushes, content to watch.

The four were sneering at the other figure, their fangs and scarlet eyes brilliant in the light of the torches on the coach.

"I've come for you", said the figure with the weapon, a woman's voice D realised with a start. 

"Well, well, what do we have here? A little girl playing hunter." 

He leered at her: "Don't you want to do something else than fight? I know I do." The others cheered and egged him on. He was obviously the leader.

The girl suddenly jumped into the air… and disappeared. They became very quiet very quickly, looking around in a daze. D saw her jump down quietly from the tree she disappeared into, just behind one of the vampires. He whirled around, but was too late. 

The weapon D mistook as a staff was actually a modified scythe. The vampire's head rolled and as the others turned around, the girl disappeared into the branches again. The leader unsheathed his sword, but was too late to defend one of his comrades as he was sliced in half. Now there were only two left, both of them now armed. The girl dropped down to the ground and faced them. 

D could see her profile and noticed her ears. She was a dunpeal. The leader had an ugly look on his face. He was beyond rage: this dunpeal filth had killed two of his own. He let out a bellow and lunged at her. The scythe had turned into a staff again. 

"Very useful, that", LH muttered. She parried and attacked. D was amazed at her speed and grace. Her long red hair flew in the air as she moved, fighting off the two vampires at the same time. After a while he noticed a movement in the deep recesses of the cave. The movement became a figure. There was a fifth vampire! D jumped off his horse. The girl had her back to the cave and couldn't see the extra enemy. Just as she beheaded another vampire, the scythe blade appearing as if by magic, the fifth vampire pounced on her back. The point of his short sword entered between her shoulder blades and exited between her breasts. She fell to the ground, a weak scream on her lips. Remarkably, she was still alive, her one hand reaching for the staff when the leader's boot came down brutally on her fingers. She gave another small scream and he laughed. D was moving at full speed when his sword passed through the leader, cutting him from right shoulder to left hip. He was still laughing when he collapsed in two pieces. The remaining vampire, unarmed, made a dash for one of the nearby horses, but D overtook him.

He quickly made his way back to the girl. The blade must have just missed her heart, but he had to hurry if he wanted to save her. She was still conscious when he knelt next to her, but her eyes were dull. 

He held out his left hand. 

"Yeah," said LH, "just missed her heart, lucky girl, pull out the sword slowly, let the wound heal enough so that she doesn't bleed to death, then pull it out totally." 

D did what he was told, who else knew more about how a dunpeal worked than someone that lived inside one? As he took hold of the sword, the girl tensed, but then fell unconscious. D carefully withdrew the sword carefully, listening to LH's advice. At last D threw the sword away in disgust. He lay the girl gently down on his cape, and was startled by a loud thunderclap. The storm had come. 

It was quite spacious inside the coach. D had removed the girl's armour and washed and bandaged her wounds. They were already healing, but the internal injuries would take a little longer. He watched her sleep in the makeshift bed he put together. LH said she was out of danger, but it would take a while for her to wake up again, she had lost a lot of blood. 

She was quite beautiful, her upswept vampire ears giving her an aristocratic look rather than the animalistic one most dunpeal have. Her hair was dark red, like burgundy wine and in stark contrast to her pale skin. Her skin felt like silk and her lips… D caught himself. LH sighed silently. D passed the time listening to the storm and examining the staff. It was made of an extremely strong alloy and had the scythe blade imbedded in the body. A switch, cunningly made to avoid accidental release, was hidden inside the runes carved down the length of the staff. The blade itself was wickedly sharp and seemed to fold itself into the staff. 

As the first rays of sun dispelled the last lingering storm clouds, D got back into the coach. He had collected proof that the vampires were dead. The girl was obviously a hunter and she would need it to collect the bounty. He watched over her for the day and most of the night.

A soft moan woke him from a shallow slumber. She moaned again and opened her eyes. He couldn't suppress a gasp, the night before her eyes were dull pools of light blue, but now they were dark purple and alert. They stared at each other for a while.

"What happened?" she asked.

"You were ambushed from behind and seriously wounded."

"The others?"

"I killed them."

She sighed with relief, "Good."

"Why did you save me?" she asked him. 

D turned to get her some water and she caught sight of his ears.

"You fought well and fate was against you, you should have won", he said softly.

"Thank you for helping me", she whispered.

He stared at her. So few people ever thank him.

"What's your name?" he asked.

She sipped the water and said, "I am Saya, you?"

"D", he said in a monotone.

Saya bowed her head, "I am honoured to meet you, D."

"And I you."

Saya drank some more water, "How long have I been asleep?"

"Not long, the fight happened the night before last."

She looked at him in surprise. She was sure her wound was nearly fatal, but it was almost totally healed in less than 24 hours. 

How did he do it?

"You are a hunter", he stated, holding her staff out to her.

She nodded, taking the weapon, wincing at the sudden movement. Maybe not totally healed. 

"I was hired to find and kill those vampires, but the townsfolk said nothing of a fifth one." She scowled, "They weren't very happy to hire me, but I was the only hunter around."

D held out a bag to her. Inside she found the lockets the vampires wore. 

"You helped me and saved me", she looked him in the eyes, "I'm going to give you half…"

D was shaking his head, but Saya went on, "…half of the bounty. I don't care what you say, everyone needs money, right? Please…"

D nodded at last.

They spent the rest of the day in silence, watching each other out of the corner of their eyes. He watched her as she walked around, building up her strength, her movements graceful, her hair moving like it weighted only fraction of what it should. 

Saya walked around, exploring the coach, sneaking a peek every now and then at the other dunpeal from beneath her lashes. He was truly beautiful and when he had helped her to her feet, his hair had brushed against her face. The silky strands smelt of honey and a deep lavender musk. His skin was as smooth as satin. She sighed, he wasn't interested in her at all: he had avoided touching her and he hadn't even looked at her after she started exploring. 

There wasn't much in the coach, but she had found some coins and strangely enough some women's clothes. Her amour had deflected the sword enough to miss her heart, but it had ruined her top. After scratching around some, she found a black top that looked to be about her size. She took another peek at D, but he was looking out the window. Saya shrugged and carefully pulled off her old top and tried out the new one. It seemed to be a bit tight, but the bandages were still in the way. She could probably take them off a bit later. 

Just as Saya took off her top, D turned around to ask her where the town was that hired her. He was frozen for a second, then quickly turned around, a faint blush on his cheeks. He knew he had bandaged her, but an unconscious person with a grievous wound was different from an awake and half-naked woman. He heard LH snicker in his mind and he sighed. She wasn't at all interested in him: she hadn't even once looked at him since she started to explore. A little while later he judged it to be safe to turn around again. D surprised himself when, "Where is this town?", became, "How do you feel?"

Saya smiled, "So much better, thank you." 

A bit later that afternoon, Saya touched her breastbone, "I think these bandages can come off now, I barely even feel anything now when I move."

D nodded, but stayed where he was, he wasn't sure what to do. She looked at him a moment and then held out her hand. He looked at it confused. 

"A knife, please."

"Oh, yes", he handed her one of his daggers and turned around. 

LH said, //Quite a gentleman, aren't you?//

After a minute or so he felt her hand on his shoulder. 

"Hardly even a scar", she handed him his dagger back, "Thank you."

After a moment she took away her hand and he felt strangely cold. 

"We should get started to the town before they decide to spend our money", said Saya, lacing up her boots. D nodded and pulled on his cape. He followed her outside into the twilight. She looked to where the horses of the coach should have been and D said, "The horses got loose after the fight." 

"The wolves", said Saya and D nodded. 

"Well, that means that my horse is MIA as well."

D looked in surprise at her. He rarely encountered dunpeal that were educated in ancient history. Saya missed his look as she stroked his horse. 

"I see yours is better trained." LH couldn't let that one go and snickered out loud. D quickly stifled the sound, but Saya turned around at the noise. 

"Did you hear that?" 

"Hear what?" asked D as he mounted his horse. He made room for her in front of him on the saddle. 

As she got on, "I could have sworn I heard something."

They set off in a westerly direction, the town being about two days away. 

D pondered the past few days. He had no idea why this young dunpeal would have such an effect on him. If it had been anyone else, he wouldn't even have tried to help them - but ever since he saw her fighting, saw the fighting passion in her eyes, he felt like he knew her and he longed to touch her. He was unaccountably crushed when he saw the blade pass through her, his rage giving him speed and strength beyond what he was normally capable of. It had been a long time since he had felt like this and he didn't really know what to make of it. 

Saya was leaning her head against his shoulder and the rhythm of the horse's movement was making it difficult for him to think. He looked down at her and saw she was asleep, her face turned away from him. Her hair was covering her neck and he slowly moved it away with his hand. He accidentally touched her and she gave a low moan, moving closer to the warmth of his body. The sound and movement made him gasp and he almost lost his grip on the bridle. He could smell her hair, a scent of vanilla mixed with almonds and a hint of musk. LH said, //Good enough to eat//, but D didn't really hear him.

It was only a few hours into the journey and D felt like he was going to go mad. 

Saya slowly came awake - she hadn't slept this well in ages and on a horse, no less. She felt D's left arm around her waist, holding her steady. A gentle rocking was making it hard to think much beyond how safe and good it felt to be so near him. It was incredible that she trusted him enough to fall asleep like that. 

D felt her heart rate go up as she woke up. 

"Sleep well?" he asked. She smiled up at him and nodded. 

D gestured to a small stream and said, "Perhaps we can camp here, you are still recovering and we should eat something." 

"Good idea", Saya said. D reluctantly removed his arm and she got off the horse. It was still dark, but the night was pleasantly warm and the stars and moon was bright enough to see by. They made a fire and shared some food. Saya watched him eat. So carefully, the way he did everything. She reached out and took off his hat. 

He looked at her confused, she giggled, "No wearing hats at the table." 

At that, he gave her a true smile and she nearly dropped his hat in the fire. He wasn't just beautiful, he was gorgeous.

They decided to share standing guard and she got first watch. D made himself comfortable in his sleeping roll. He was tired, it'd been more than two days since he last slept. Saya listened to his breathing slow as he fell into a deep sleep. After about 20 min, she waved her left hand in a complicated pattern and a small, bright creature appeared out of thin air. It looked like a tiny woman with butterfly wings. It had flyaway blue hair and a snub nose and whenever its wings moved, it would be encompassed by a bright light. It flew around Saya's head, twittering in her ears, obviously distressed. 

"I'm alright now, Neva", it twittered some more, "Yes I know."

The little neem (that's what the fairy-like creature was) fluttered around. 

//I had to watch everything happen, I was so afraid you would die and I couldn't do anything// small tears fell from it's eyes //please, please don't ever do that again, I'll hide somewhere out of sight, just please don't unsummon me when you go out to fight, it's terrible to watch, helpless, it must be how a ghost feels// 

The little thing settled on Saya's hand and she stroked its blue hair with a finger. "I'm so sorry, Neva, I didn't think something like that could happen. I would have called you earlier, but he was still around", she gestured to the sleeping D. 

"He helped me, cared for me." 

//I saw, yes// Neva fluttered onto Saya's shoulder. 

"Isn't he beautiful?" 

//Very// said Neva, //you like him, don't you?// 

"I think so."

"He looks so familiar, doesn't he?" 

Neva fluttered closer to D and looked at him //He does look familiar, I wonder why//

For the rest of her watch, Neva played in her hair. The neem was so very glad her young mistress was alive and well. When the sun started to rise, she turned to Neva, "I'm sorry…" 

//It's alright, I understand// and Saya unsummoned the little creature. 

She walked over to where D was sleeping and softly pushed his hair from his face… and he grabbed her wrist with a growl deep in his throat and his eyes blazing. Saya had expected it and pried his fingers off her arm, her strength equal to his. When D realised who it was, he dropped is gaze, "I'm sorry, I…" 

She held his hand. "Don't be, it's a natural response to waking one of us. Come on, your turn." She smiled, "You get to see the sunrise."

D stood up and stretched, unaware of Saya's gaze. Since she had lost her horse and most of her belongings, D had insisted that they could share the sleepingroll. It was still warm and smelled of lavender. Saya yawned and fell asleep.

D stared at her and was startled when LH suddenly said, "You know, she was watching you all night long, I think she likes you." 

D snorted and turned away, "Must be your imagination, she feels nothing for me." LH sighed, "We'll see", he said smugly. 

After a while, D found himself staring at her again, remembering the sound she made when he touched her neck, remembering the feel of her hair between his fingers… 

He was broken out of his reverie, when he heard her groan. She turned on her side towards him and gripped the material of the bedroll tightly. It looked like she was dreaming, about what, he had no idea. LH, of course, had one, he always did. 

"Bet she's dreaming about you", and he snickered at what he saw in D's mind. D clasped his hand tightly in anger. He knew it was useless to fantasise about loving someone, it always hurt him more when people abandoned him then. He sighed and knelt down to wake her up - it was time to leave.

Her reaction to being woken up was the same as his, except that she hissed at him, her fangs having grown fractionally. He was surprised when he felt his own tingle in response. He broke her grip and stood up. 

"I hope you slept well." 

After she had recovered herself, she nodded and watched him through her hair as he walked over to the stream to get some water for them. 

It was mid morning when they left. The day was clear and warm. This time the ride was even harder than the day before. Saya was awake the whole way, but that meant that she move with the horse's rhythm. D was unutterably glad that no enemies jumped out at them - he probably wouldn't even have noticed them. 

Before sunset, after riding in peaceful silence the whole way, D was desperate for a diversion: "Have you been a hunter long, Saya?"

She turned slightly towards him, "It's been such a long time, I don't even remember anymore. And you?" 

"It feels like ages have gone by."

She sighed, the small movement sending flurries down his nerves. 

"I feel the same way. I mean, I'm hired by humans, every time it's a different one, but the buildings stay the same, the words stay the same and the vampires keep coming back. It just feels so strange sometimes, like I'm stuck in a never ending loop."

D sensed it was a touchy subject and casted around for another one. He remembered her strange weapon. "Where did you get that staff weapon? I've never seen anything like it."

Saya smiled and took the staff from her belt. When not in use it could be telescoped into a three foot long cylinder. She held it in front of her so that D could see as well. 

"These runes speak of the legends of the dark lands, like the ones used by the barberois and the other mutant peoples." 

She touched one of the runes and it telescoped out into its full 8 foot length. 

"These other runes tell of the coming of the vampires, but they're all wrong, of course." 

D nodded, few knew the true story behind the existence of vampires, then frowned, where did she learn the true story? 

They came to another stream and they dismounted to let the horse drink and made camp. The town was only a few hours away, but it would be best to show up in daylight.

She touched another rune and the scythe blade unfolded itself. "No matter that the stories it tells are wrong, the blade works just as well." 

She twirled the staff a few times, with the blade still exposed and D was amazed at the grace of her fingers as she worked the staff, but he knew how deadly she could be, he had seen her dispatch three vampires, after all. 

LH whispered in his mind and D asked her, "Do you feel up to a bit of sparring, to make sure you are completely healed?"

"Sure", Saya said and withdrew the blade. Now it was just a normal long staff. D unsheathed his sword (another snicker from LH - //guttermind!// D sent back to him) and faced her. Her attack was a blur of speed, but he blocked her. Blow after blow and parry after lunge the fight went on. After a while they were both out of breath and D called a halt. Saya promptly collapsed on the ground, panting. Sparring with a warrior trained dunpeal with equal strength and speed was hell on the nerves, she had to work very hard to make sure the sword didn't slide on the staff and cut off her hand. She usually fought to kill and therefore didn't often run into that problem. He was also a lot better than any vampire she had ever come across. 

He was instantly at her side, "Are you all right?" he asked. 

She smiled weakly, "Sure, I'm fine. The staff is a great weapon to kill with, but sparring can get me killed." 

He helped her to her feet, his fingers lingering on hers for just a moment longer than necessary.

By that time the sun had set. Saya explored around the bushes for berries and fruits while D made the fire. 

"Hey, I found a pool, I'm going to have a bath." She put down a bunch of apples and a few berries next to the fire. D watched her go and sat down, eating one of the apples while LH screamed inside his head.

The water was lovely and cool. Saya swam a few lengths and then started to bathe, using the bit of soap she had left in her belt pouch. She sat on a rock and fought her hair. It was a mess - it had tangles and knots everywhere.

From his spot on the shore, D watched her wash her hair, only her head and shoulders visible above the water. He had no idea what he was doing here, it was wrong to be spying on her and he knew he should leave, but he didn't move. He watched her duck under the water for a moment and then appear again. She flipped her head back as she stood up, her hair arching through the air, the water droplets sparkling in the moonlight. He could barely breath. Her wet hair looked almost like blood, trailing down her pale body. Trailing where he… She turned slightly to put down the bit of soap on a nearby rock and D knew that if he didn't leave that instant, he would do something he would regret.

Saya found him next to the fire, waiting for her. She was dressed in the black top and a pair of black leather pants, her burgundy coloured body armour in her arms. The black of her clothes made a startling contrast to her white skin and red lips. Her wet hair looked even more like blood in the light from the fire. He was aware that he'd been thinking of blood way too much lately, but it didn't really bother him as much as it usually would have.

"Would you like some soap?, the water really is very nice", she asked him. She noticed he was staring at her.

She looked down at herself. Oh, yes, her hair.

D visibly shook himself and said, "I've got some, thank you." As he walked past her, he thought, //So that's where the vanilla scent came from.//

Saya sat next to the fire, eating the food he left her, an apple and a few berries. Every now and then she would flick her hair, trying to make it dry faster. All the time absolutely refusing to think of D in the water, D naked in the water, with soap… Her resolve broke and she was about to get up when he appeared out of the shadows. He was wearing the black pants he wore beneath his armour, and nothing else. A few strands of his hair trailed over his bare chest and some more fell forward when he stooped to put down the rest of his clothes next to the bedroll. He sat down next to her and picked up another apple, flicking his hair out of the way.

"You know…" she trailed off as he looked at her, the colour of his eyes flickering in the light of the fire, then she started again, "You know, your hair would look great braided, and it would be out of the way too, at least until it dries. I could help, if you like."

It had been a while since his hair had been braided, he remembered when he was young he used to do it a lot, he had forgotten why he stopped.

He nodded, "Thank you."

Saya gave him a big smile and searched around in her pouch for her comb ("not that, not that, hey, I forgot about that, loose that…"), much to D's amusement. At last she found it.

"Now turn around."

She started to comb out all the tangles in his hair, marvelling at the softness. She could smell the scent of his soap (wheat and honey) in his hair. The feeling of her fingers moving through his hair, touching him here and there was sending shivers down his spine. LH wasn't helping any either. D knew he couldn't do anything, since he was absolutely sure she had no interest in him and he couldn't bear to harm her.

(AN: I know this breaks the mood a bit, but for anyone that knows Black Adder: Thicky Black, thicky Adder, thicky - it means: totally oblivious to the obvious).

Saya took her time to braid his hair, sure that this was the only chance she would ever get to touch his bare skin. 

"There, finished", she put her hands on his shoulders to turn him around. 

He did feel more comfortable. "Thank you."

"No problem."

She suddenly reached out to him and pulled a few strands out of the braid to frame his face. 

"There, even better."

They smiled at each other for a while, then noticed what they were doing and turned away quickly to stare at the fire. 

"I'll take first watch", said D. Saya nodded and got ready for bed. She lay for a while, watching the fire.

D listened as her heartbeat slowed down as she fell asleep, her small fangs were visible between her parted lips… //Nice fire, interesting trees, those.// 

LH snickered and then said, "You know, she did something strange last night. I didn't want to say anything until you had a chance to see it too, but…"

"What did she do?", asked D.

"You promise to believe me?"

Now D was a bit worried, why would LH worry about D believing him?

"I promise."

LH, sighed, "Alright, she called a neem to her."

"What?" said D, a bit loudly.

"SSSSSH, you'll wake her", whispered LH urgently.

"A neem?" whispered D

"Yep, a neem, weird, huh?"

"Aren't they really rare?"

"Very rare, I haven't seen one in centuries, and this one seemed to care a lot about her, didn't know what it was saying though."

"Why didn't she tell me?"

"Why didn't you tell her about me?" LH countered.

D sighed, "Point taken. Is it dangerous?"

LH laughed, "No, they're just like pets, not much use for anything, except maybe for company. Wait until it's her turn to watch and you'll see."

D waited and passed the time toying with his new braid.

He touched her hand to wake her up. "Your turn", he said as she composed herself.

He got into the bedroll and breathed in her scent deeply. He lay back and pretended to fall asleep, slowing his heart beat with an act of will.

At last he saw her turn towards him, her eyes blue in the light of the dying fire. He watched through his lashes as her left hand made a complicated pattern in the air and suddenly a small bright light appeared on her shoulder. 

It twittered like a small bird, or an insect and Saya smiled at it: "Hello to you too. Here, I brought you something to eat." 

She held out a berry in her hand in the little thing flew down and started munching on it. 

"The ride was excruciating today. His scent everywhere, pressing against me, his arms around me", she shivered in delight at the memory, "it was driving me mad." It twittered some more - "He does look handsome with his hair like that, doesn't he?" 

Saya sighed, "God, I wished I could touch him again. He looks so lonely sometimes, I wish there were something I could do to take that haunted look out of his eyes." 

The neem sputtered something through a mouth full of berry. 

Saya smiled sadly, "He doesn't want me Neva, he wouldn't look at me unless I speak to him and he barely touches me, unless he has to, like on the horse. He pulls away so quickly." 

She shook her head, "I shouldn't even think about being with him, it'll only hurt more when he leaves." 

Saya looked at him again, "But at least I can dream." 

The neem (//Neva//, D thought, //a fitting name for the little ball of light. Neva would be Nova in the old tongue//) fluttered back to Saya's shoulder. 

"Tomorrow will be the last day, I just hope those townspeople pay up, it's getting hard to survive. Perhaps I should leave, go to another land where the people are more grateful." 

Neva twittered and Saya laughed, "And where there are more berries, yes." 

She stroked the neem's blue hair for a while. 

"It'll be dawn soon." 

Neva looked sad. 

"Don't worry, I promise to take care of myself." 

It pulled on Saya's hair and whispered in her ear. Saya smiled and looked at D. 

"Perhaps I will ask him." 

She made another pattern and the creature disappeared. 

D was stunned. She wanted him? She felt the torture on the horse too? He thought she thought he was just a travelling companion for a short time. He had no idea he had it so wrong. LH whispered in his mind, //I told you so.// 

She cared for him, he realised. She saw his loneliness and was touched by it. He had to tell her he cared for her too, somehow.

She bent down to wake him up, her hair brushing against his face. He caught her wrist before she could even touch him. He smiled at her startled expression, and gave her hand a soft kiss. 

"Good morning." 

She could just stare at him with wide eyes as he got up and dressed in his armour. 

"How far is it to the town?" he asked. 

"Only about three hours, maybe less." She looked worried. 

"What is it?", he asked, sitting down next to her.

"Nothing", she said too quickly and went to put out the fire.

LH: //I think she's worried about the bounty, she doesn't think they're going to pay.//

//That doesn't matter, it never really did.//


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry everyone for not updating anything! I've been in hospital for a few months now after surgery to remove a few funny (not ha-ha) lumps from places they have no right to be. I'm only now starting to get better and haven't been allowed to do anything, except hope that things don't get any worse. 

Thank you all for your wonderful reviews!! - they have really helped me remember that someone out there still likes me.

Kitsune-minkchankathryn woodhiyaAgent Blue

KiaraNekoKitaraAshley Sinstar 

This is the end of this story, but if you want more adventures of Saya and D, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimers apply as in chapter 1, rating is still R.

//blah, blah// - thoughts

Chapter 2:

They rode the rest of the way to the town in silence, but D was struggling with himself. He had no idea what to say to her – all he knew was that he cared for her deeply. 

//You love her,// said LH and D reflexively tightened his hold on Saya. She gave a small sigh and leaned into him. D smiled and leaned closer to her, breathing in the scent of her hair, her skin and her blood.

All too soon they came to the town. It was small and the few people that were around scattered into the buildings as they came near. 

"Head for that building," Saya pointed.

It looked like the principle building of the town, but as they got closer, D could see that it was actually a type of converted barn that hadn't been repaired for a very long time. They dismounted and walked into the gloomy interior. Inside was a large hall with an old wooden table near the far wall. On the sidewalls were display cases and cupboards. Two men were seated at the table, having a meal. Saya walked to the table while D stayed back. They had agreed that since the deal had been made with her, she would be the one that would collect the bounty. 

Both of the men were very dirty and smelly and completely ignorant of even the most basic of table manners. Saya noticed a girl standing in the corner of the room. She was obviously very poor. Her dress had been repaired so many times that the original pattern of the material was impossible to guess, but at least she was clean and seemed not to be completely hostile towards the hunters.

"I have done as I have been charged to do."

She threw the bag with the vampires' jewellery onto the table. 

"Here is the proof."

One of the men slowly opened the bag and the golden trinkets fell onto the table. The other one said: "We are so very grateful for what you have done, but we have nothing to give you."

"We are very sorry," said the other, still fingering the gold, not even looking at her. 

Saya had expected an excuse not to pay her, but not such a blatant dismissal. She was outraged, she had been almost killed and they didn't even try and lie about the money. 

"Very well," she said, her voice a deadly whisper, "then do you at least have a horse for me?" 

The one that had thanked her nodded after a while and motioned to the girl. 

"It is the least we could do," he said. The other one was totally ignoring everyone in favour of the gold. 

Saya looked around the room at the display cases. They were all empty except one that held two beautiful swords. What bothered her was that she had seen the money - all counted out, all 4 million of it - before she took the job. 

//Probably going to keep it for themselves and spread lies about the ungrateful hunters that tried to go back on the deal// she mused. Damn.

She turned at a noise from one of the doors and saw another young girl leading a horse into the hall. 

"My daughter, Maggie," said the man at the table. 

Saya didn't hear a word, she was staring at the girl, or rather at what the girl was wearing. She had lost that amulet in the mountains near here almost 50 years ago. She had spent years looking for it. She walked towards the girl and took the dark purple amulet from around her neck and stared at it in disbelief.

It was a terrible snowstorm. She had chased a pair of vampires into the mountains. There was no shelter and the dawn was coming. The battle was a hard one, but she had won, eventually. Unfortunately, the chain of her amulet was broken by one of the vampires early on in the battle and it was lost in the snow. 

She was crushed when she couldn't find it. She had repaired the chain, but the amulet was lost. Her father had given it to her on her 18th birthday, the day a dunpeal became immortal. Draco was the grand vizier of the Vampire King, a very important position, but he always made time for his child. Her father had cared for her and her mother very much. 

Every dunpeal that was of age in the palace wore such an amulet, the colour and pictograph inside showing to which house they belonged. Her childhood days in the palace were wonderful. She played with the other dunpeal children and learned many things from the vampire elders. Their society was totally different from what humans believed it to be. The dunpeal were considered as equals in all things. Even the king had a child, a son. No one was allowed to speak his name, so he was just called the prince. He used to teach her how to dance, until he turned 18 and had to attend to matters of the royal house... 

Saya paused in her memories. That's why he looks so familiar. She was barely 12 years old when she saw him last, centuries ago, but it was him. She looked over at D. He was the king's son. 

He looked at her and took out his own amulet from beneath his armour where he had taken to wearing it. It was the dark blue colour of the royal house. He remembered her now, her purple eyes and her red hair. He used to love dancing with her - they would dance for hours. He had fallen in love with her and was planning to marry her, but after he had come of age the directive was given and there was no time for anything else. Afterwards he had believed her to have been either killed in the attack or taken away to the City.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hunting humans were a crime amongst vampires, thousands of years ago, but there were those that enjoyed the killing. There weren't many of them, but because of all the terrible things they did, humans had started to fight back. By the time the king had given the royal directive that all vampires were to leave the planet and go to the City of the Night, no peaceful vampire was safe from the vengeful humans. The directive was spread throughout the world with the help of the barberois. Unfortunately, some humans heard of it as well. 

Evacuating an entire species was not something done in a day, or a year, or even a decade. All the ships had to be moved, more had to be built, supplies and such had to be planned. At last everything was ready, but so were the humans. They attacked the palace just as the first ships took off. In the chaos of the attack, families were separated and many people were left behind. Most were killed within a few days. That disastrous day was proudly called the Burning Day by humans. 

Those few survivors took it upon themselves to hunt down the vampires that created and perpetuated the reputation that all vampires are vicious killers. Now, ages later, only these criminals were left. They fed on, violated and killed humans for pleasure. The dunpeal born from those forced unions were hated and shunned, with no knowledge of the glory of the Vampire Empire that was sullied by a handful of criminals. 

It was a testament to the strength and planning of the human attackers that even the king's son was left behind. D knew his father was still alive, but he also knew that the chances of ever seeing him or any of his friends and family again were remote. They could never come back for those that were left behind.

He too had taken to hunting down the vampires monsters that had caused so much suffering.

~~~~~~

He couldn't believe that he had found her again. His first love, a love he had believed lost. And now he had fallen in love with her again all these ages later. With tears in his eyes, he embraced her. 

She was openly crying as he held her close to him. The humans in the room had no idea what was going on, but they don't really matter much in the scheme of things anyway.

"I've always loved you," he whispered into her hair.

"I love you so much," she whispered back. A long moment later they broke away, still holding hands. 

Saya turned to the girl: "I lost this a long time ago, I will pay you for this." 

The girl had tears in her eyes. She had always been told that the dunpeal were monsters with no capacity for emotion. Now she knew how wrong people were.

"No, please, it's alright, it's yours."

Saya smiled and bowed her head to the girl. "I thank you." 

She turned to the other men in the room and grabbed the bag of trinkets from the table. "I will take this as payment as well as those," she pointed to the swords in the display case. 

Before either of them could say anything, Saya had broken the door of the case and tossed one of the swords to D. "They would make a fine price… somewhere else." 

Saya grabbed the reins of the horse from the girl and they ran outside. Outside D got onto his horse and they rode off into the forest. They rode hard for an hour, dodging and turning to confuse any pursuers until they came to a clearing in the forest close to a stream. They let the horses drink and then looked at each other.

"I thought I had lost you," D whispered, lightly touching her cheek. 

She leaned into his touch, "I thought I would never find you again," Saya whispered. 

He brushed her lips lightly with his own. She kissed him and soon he sought entry into her mouth. Their tongues duelled and she moaned softly as his tongue caressed her sensitive fangs. He couldn't get enough of her. These few days had driven him almost mad with her closeness. He lay her down on his cape and kissed her with a fever unknown to him. He felt his fangs tingle and as she kissed him, he felt her fangs scraping on his tongue. He lay a string of kisses down her jaw and to her neck. 

When they were naked at last, he admired her she lay before him. Her milk white skin was a stunning contrast to her blood coloured hair. He had to touch her. She gasped as his hands ghosted over her breasts and she could feel her fangs lengthen. Her eyes darkened in desire as she watched him watch her as he explored her body. 

At the sight of her so uninhibited before him, he could stand it no longer and caught her mouth in a searing kiss, his body covering hers. She moaned and wrapped her legs around him, his every touch making her shiver in pleasure.

Their lovemaking was slow, anything more would have been too much for their tortured minds and bodies to handle. She arched her back as he moved inside her, exposing her neck to him. He bared his fangs, eyes smouldering and then bit her, tasting her blood. He felt her fangs slide into his flesh as he was sliding in and out of her and then tasted himself as their blood mingled.

She fell asleep in his arms, her hair fanned out around her head like a halo. He had never been so happy in his life. Eternity now is something both of them can look forward to at last, together.

Thanks so much for reading!!

And anyone wondering what happened to LH and Neva, they wisely decided to keep quite and let their friends play.


End file.
